The Abyss

Directed by James Cameron, The Abyss follows several characters, including Ed Harris’ Bud, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio’s Lindsey, and Michael Biehn’s Hiram, as they attempt to recover a sunken nuclear submarine and, eventually, discern what happened to it. Filmmaker Cameron, armed with his own screenplay, delivers an erratically-paced yet mostly rewarding drama that benefits from its proliferation of compelling, engrossing elements, as the movie boasts a series of commanding performances that are heightened by often jaw-dropping sets and first-class special effects work – which ensures, for the most part, that the palpably overlong running time is rarely as problematic as one might’ve feared. (The excessively deliberate opening half hour does demand a fair amount of patience, however.) And although the picture’s midsection contains its share of lulls, The Abyss has been packed with a number of astonishingly spellbinding set-pieces that effectively (and efficiently) compensate for its less-than-mesmerizing attributes – with, especially, an extraordinarily tense rescue sequence paving the way for a thoroughly satisfying final stretch. The somewhat abrupt conclusion is, as a result, unable to diminish the power of what’s otherwise a stirring, emotionally-charged climax, and it’s clear, ultimately, that The Abyss stands as an almost predictably top-notch effort from Cameron.

***1/2 out of ****